Re-Do at The Chesterfield’s Leopard To Unveil New Look With a Couple of Familar Mainstays

If you think this is a picture of The Leopard Lounge at The Chesterfield, you’d be right, but in about a week, the fabled lounge and adjacent restaurant, which for 20-plus years have both generally had the same well-recognized appearance, will look a lot different.

In fact, The Leopard Lounge & Restaurant already is changing its spots as designers and others remove elements to make way for new wall and window treatments, high-gloss black shutters, punkah fans, banquette seating, black-granite tables, and an assortment of mirrors and crystal.

“They’ll be working on it 24-7 until we re-open,” says The Chesterfield’s assistant general manager, Richard Snyder, who notes the hotel is targeting a Dec. 6 opening day prior to a grand re-opening party later that week.

“The Leopard has had a certain look that hasn’t substantially changed,” Snyder continues. “It will now look different, but familiar,” especially because two keystones will remain—the leopard-print carpeting and the locally famous hand-painted ceiling by Lino Mario.

The redesign, billed as “fresh” and “contemporary,” was conceived by Bea Tollman, founder and president of The Chesterfield’s parent company, Red Carnation Hotels, and her daughter, Toni Tollman, along with project director Brian Brennan.

Coinciding with the new look, which doesn’t entail structural changes,The Chesterfield’s Chef Gerard Coughlin will launch new breakfast, lunch and dinner menus, with some items prepared on his new Josper Grill.

About the Author

M.M. Cloutier is a longtime freelance journalist who has written and reported about dining and food, business, history, travel, people and more for numerous local, regional and national publications, such as Palm Beach-area newspapers and magazines, as well as The New York Times, Time magazine and others.